Wagestream Inks Visa Deal To Expand Offerings In Europe

Wagestream is teaming up with Visa to expand its offerings in Europe, a move that comes on the heels of a major injection of capital into the London-based FinTech.

Wagestream said on Monday (August 3) that it will integrate Visa Direct’s push payment platform into its income streaming system, which enables workers to draw upon a percentage of their paycheck as they earn it.

The partnership is the first between an income-streaming company and Visa in Europe, Wagestream said.

As a result of the agreement, employees who use Wagestream in Europe will be able to transfer money directly from their work accounts to their Visa cards.

Wage-streaming can help even out financial rough spots for workers, cutting down or eliminating reliance on payday lenders, Wagestream contends.

“Income streaming is revolutionizing pay for millions of workers, and is one of the most important financial resilience innovations in generations,” said Peter Briffett, CEO and co-founder of Wagestream, in a press release. “Our partnership with Visa is going to improve the flexibility of income streaming even further, by empowering our platform across Europe and allowing workers to choose which account they want to stream their money into.”

Wagestream currently has agreements in Europe with companies covering 350,000 workers. The FinTech states that its partnership with Visa is also anticipated to help expand its global platform in Europe and beyond.

Earlier this month, Wagestream announced that it had raised $25 million from a group of investment firms led by Northzone. Rounding out the group were Latitude Venture Partners, QED Investors and Balderton Capital.

Wagestream noted that it will use the money to solidify its market position in the United Kingdom and to help finance its global expansion.

“COVID-19 has impacted the global workforce greatly, and it’s more important than ever that we find ways to support workers on the frontlines, helping them get faster access to their money when they need it in order to pay for life’s necessities,” said Bill Sheley, senior vice president and global chief of Visa Direct, in a press statement.